Sicily

History

Although Sicily sees the presence of man since 10,000 years ago with the tribe Sicani, of which have been found in numerous important historical paintings, the island's history begins in 750 BC, the Greek domination.

The Greeks conquered the island with relative ease, settling in Syracuse, which soon became one of the most important centers of Magna Graecia. The city was often the center of several disputes by the most important cities, especially during the Peloponnesian War.

While the Greek city of Syracuse controlled much of Sicily, some of the most western areas of the island were under the control of the Carthaginians. Soon the two cultures came to clash, resulting in the longest war of the ancient world, the Punic wars.

Greek peace with Rome arrived in 262 BC and, with the defeat of the Carthaginians in 242 BC, in Sicily becomes first Roman province outside the Italian peninsula. Subsequent attempt to recapture the island by the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War in 210 BC, failed and Sicily was definitely part of the Roman Empire.

Although Sicily had a very important role, both for its function as a granary of the empire, and as a starting point for the many Roman military campaigns in the Mediterranean, the imperial culture never penetrates deeply in the island, which kept for large stretches of its Roman history, its Greek culture.

With the collapse of the Roman Empire, the control of the island passed in 440, under the Germanic tribe known as the Vandals under the rule of their king Genserico. Soon, however, the vandals entered the war with the Goths, losing most of the newly conquered territories. The conquest of the island began in 448 under Ostrogothic Terodorico the Great, who in spite of his German origin, tried to revive Roman culture, allowing, also, freedom of religion.

During the Gothic wars, the Eastern Roman Empire in an attempt to recapture Italy, initially moved war against the Goths in Sicily. Conquered the island the Byzantines used it as a base for the invasion of the Italian peninsula. During the Gothic wars, the island passed hands several times, but in 554 was definitely a Byzantine province.

From year 652 Sicily was the center of clashes between the Byzantine Empire and the Arabs for the control of the island. Several times the rule of island passed over from one empire to another, but after more than two centuries, in 965, Sicily was finally conquered by the Arabs.

The Arabs immediately embark on major reforms that led to increased agricultural productivity by encouraging, thus, the growth of small farms, which increased their influence in front of the dominance of land ownership.

The Arab domination of Sicily lasted little more than a century. From the eleventh century, in fact, the families of Southern Italy obtained the help of Normans and in 1072 with the siege of Palermo, Roger I of Hauteville, succed in its aim in bringing the island under the supervision of Norman.

During the period of Norman rule, several dynasties alternated in government: first the Altavilla, the Swabians, and thus, due to the conflict of the latter with the papacy, the Anjou. Pope Innocent IV crowned, in fact, Charles I of Anjou king of Naples and Sicily in 1266.

The government of Anjou was particularly disliked by the people in Sicily, mainly because of its excessive taxation. The discontent, in 1282, resulted in so-called Sicilian Vespers, during which, especially with the help of Peter III of Aragon, the Angevin dynasty was deposed.

The result was a long and bloody war between the two dynasties, which led in 1372, the passage of the government of the island to the family of Aragon. Sicily will be governed as an independent kingdom by relatives of the kings of Aragon until 1409 and then as part of the Crown of Aragon.

The following 300 years of history Spanish-Sicilian are particularly troubled as a result of numerous conflicts and territorial disputes by different Spanish families, conflict culminating in 1701 in the chaotic war of Spanish Succession, which ended in 1713 with the Treaty of Utrecht, which assigned the control of the island to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, at the time ally of the French.

After only seven years the Savoy and the Habsburgs exchanged control of Sardinia and Sicily, which passed, then, under the control of Austria. But Charles III of Bourbon took the opportunity to retake the island during the War of Polish Succession, which distracted the attention of Arburg out of the Mediterranean.

Sicily was, at first, an independent kingdom, while the Bourbons ruled over both kingdoms from Naples. However with the advent of Napoleon Napoli came back under French control and Ferdinand III of Bourbon was forced to withdraw to Sicily, which was still under its full control, also, because of the help of British naval protection.

At the end of the Napoleonic wars of Sicily and Naples, were again united, this time under the name of the Reign of the Two Sicilies, ruled by the Bourbons.

At the end of 1848, following the revolutionary movement begun in 1820, the Sicilian people is able to drive out the Bourbons and gain their independence, and after the expedition of the Thousand, in 1860 the Kingdom of Italy.